The pandemic resulting from COVID-19 infections had short-term positive impacts on the environment such as improvement in air and water quality. However, long term changes still have disastrous effects in terms of loosening of conservation policies and an increase in ‘post-COVID-19’ development subsidies to boost the economy at the expense of the environment. The prevention of habitat loss and zoonoses will avert future pandemics and measures to protect the local environment should be taken. The Republic of Korea follows the global trend in the weakness of long-term environmental answer to the pandemic and other on-going zoonoses, such as the avian influenza and African swine fever. Some of the current activities may even increase the risks of pandemic as mass culling of animals is widespread despite known risks. Instead, environmental protection and decreased encroachment may be the only safe way to proactively prevent the emergence of further pandemics.
{"title":"Science-based environmental conservation to answer the risk of pandemic, with a focus on the Republic of Korea","authors":"Amaël Borzée","doi":"10.1071/pc21014","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/pc21014","url":null,"abstract":"The pandemic resulting from COVID-19 infections had short-term positive impacts on the environment such as improvement in air and water quality. However, long term changes still have disastrous effects in terms of loosening of conservation policies and an increase in ‘post-COVID-19’ development subsidies to boost the economy at the expense of the environment. The prevention of habitat loss and zoonoses will avert future pandemics and measures to protect the local environment should be taken. The Republic of Korea follows the global trend in the weakness of long-term environmental answer to the pandemic and other on-going zoonoses, such as the avian influenza and African swine fever. Some of the current activities may even increase the risks of pandemic as mass culling of animals is widespread despite known risks. Instead, environmental protection and decreased encroachment may be the only safe way to proactively prevent the emergence of further pandemics.","PeriodicalId":38939,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47346503","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Penelope (Penny) Olsen is among the first small, but significant tranche of women field biologists. Penny is a world-renowned ornithologist and author who has spent her entire working career passionately pursuing conservation of Australian wildlife. Her award-wining books make science decipherable to ordinary readers. This paper is a brief biography of Penny, as one of the more successful of those pioneer women conservation biologists to work in the Pacific region. It tracks her early life, her influences and career path, and her struggles to balance work and family while working largely as a self-funded biologist and writer.
{"title":"Biography of Dr Penelope (Penny) Diane Olsen AM; renowned ornithologist and author of books on Australian ornithological art and ornithological history","authors":"P. Kennedy","doi":"10.1071/pc21025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/pc21025","url":null,"abstract":"Penelope (Penny) Olsen is among the first small, but significant tranche of women field biologists. Penny is a world-renowned ornithologist and author who has spent her entire working career passionately pursuing conservation of Australian wildlife. Her award-wining books make science decipherable to ordinary readers. This paper is a brief biography of Penny, as one of the more successful of those pioneer women conservation biologists to work in the Pacific region. It tracks her early life, her influences and career path, and her struggles to balance work and family while working largely as a self-funded biologist and writer.","PeriodicalId":38939,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46419403","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
P. Fabre, T. Bambridge, J. Claudet, E. Sterling, Alexander Mawyer
Resource sustainability requires recognising and developing pathways to integrate local and Indigenous knowledges alongside conservation and sustainability sciences within management practices and governance. However, knowledge never occurs in a vacuum, and is always mediated by the beliefs, values, or stances towards its possession or use within particular contexts. Focusing on the unprecedented renewal of a traditional practice of natural resource management in French Polynesia called rāhui, this article investigates the local conceptions, perceptions, and expectations (CPE) that mediate between community knowledges, plans, and actions, and inputs from conservation and sustainability sciences. Drawing on a multi-year ethnographic study focused on the CPE of two coastal communities around Tahiti’s Taiarapu coast, our results show the CPE that shape relationships between conservation sciences’ inputs toward decision and policy-making and community governance and management over nearshore marine resources can differ meaningfully. Moreover, we suggest that evidence of such differences that exist despite socioeconomic, cultural, or demographic similarities indicates that the specificities of local communities’ CPE around conservation and sustainability sciences should be carefully considered before and alongside any conservation or management action.
{"title":"Contemporary Rāhui: placing Indigenous, conservation, and sustainability sciences in community-led conservation","authors":"P. Fabre, T. Bambridge, J. Claudet, E. Sterling, Alexander Mawyer","doi":"10.1071/pc20087","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/pc20087","url":null,"abstract":"Resource sustainability requires recognising and developing pathways to integrate local and Indigenous knowledges alongside conservation and sustainability sciences within management practices and governance. However, knowledge never occurs in a vacuum, and is always mediated by the beliefs, values, or stances towards its possession or use within particular contexts. Focusing on the unprecedented renewal of a traditional practice of natural resource management in French Polynesia called rāhui, this article investigates the local conceptions, perceptions, and expectations (CPE) that mediate between community knowledges, plans, and actions, and inputs from conservation and sustainability sciences. Drawing on a multi-year ethnographic study focused on the CPE of two coastal communities around Tahiti’s Taiarapu coast, our results show the CPE that shape relationships between conservation sciences’ inputs toward decision and policy-making and community governance and management over nearshore marine resources can differ meaningfully. Moreover, we suggest that evidence of such differences that exist despite socioeconomic, cultural, or demographic similarities indicates that the specificities of local communities’ CPE around conservation and sustainability sciences should be carefully considered before and alongside any conservation or management action.","PeriodicalId":38939,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"46294175","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sara M. Belcher, O. Mercier, Jeffery P. Foley, Julie R. Deslippe
A cross-cultural approach to conservation and natural resource management will enable resource managers to access the full potential of dual knowledge epistemologies and facilitate genuine co-management. To achieve this epistemological convergence in Aotearoa, New Zealand, a framework and an ecological assessment tool are required that can employ indicators from both neoclassical ecological science and indigenous science, in particular mātauranga Māori. The Ecological State Assessment Tool (ESAT) was developed to assess quantitative scientific data using Māori ecological indicators. ESAT models population or social data weighted according to an applied Māori ecological perspective. ESAT may be applied to any conservation project to integrate Māori ecological knowledge in resource management. We illustrate the utility of ESAT in a case study of how different conservation management practices affect the ecological health of a short-tailed bat colony (Mystacina tuberculata), Pekapeka O Puketītī-Piopio. Applying ESAT shows that although pest control programs were achieving management targets, social engagement had a significant effect on ecological health outcomes for the bats. ESAT may assist territorial authorities and the Crown to meet their resource management obligations to Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi, value mātauranga and provide a way for Māori and ecologists to conceptualise and understand each other’s epistemology. Furthermore, ESAT can be adapted to include any cultural or ecological indicators, enabling its application internationally.
保护和自然资源管理的跨文化方法将使资源管理者能够充分利用双重知识认识论的潜力，并促进真正的共同管理。为了在新西兰奥特亚实现这种认识论上的趋同，需要一个框架和生态评估工具，可以使用新古典生态科学和本土科学的指标，特别是毛利人的指标。开发生态状态评估工具是为了使用毛利生态指标评估定量科学数据。ESAT根据应用的毛利生态视角对人口或社会数据进行加权建模。ESAT可应用于任何保护项目，以将毛利人的生态知识纳入资源管理。我们在一个案例研究中说明了ESAT的效用，该案例研究了不同的保护管理做法如何影响短尾蝙蝠群落（Mystacina tuberculata）Pekapeka O Puketītī-Piopio的生态健康。应用ESAT表明，尽管害虫防治计划正在实现管理目标，但社会参与对蝙蝠的生态健康结果产生了重大影响。ESAT可以协助领土当局和王室履行《怀唐伊条约》规定的对毛利人的资源管理义务，重视毛利人和生态学家对彼此认识论的概念化和理解。此外，ESAT可以进行调整，以包括任何文化或生态指标，从而使其能够在国际上应用。
{"title":"Ecological State Assessment Tool (ESAT): a cross-cultural natural resource management tool from Aotearoa, New Zealand","authors":"Sara M. Belcher, O. Mercier, Jeffery P. Foley, Julie R. Deslippe","doi":"10.1071/pc20089","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/pc20089","url":null,"abstract":"A cross-cultural approach to conservation and natural resource management will enable resource managers to access the full potential of dual knowledge epistemologies and facilitate genuine co-management. To achieve this epistemological convergence in Aotearoa, New Zealand, a framework and an ecological assessment tool are required that can employ indicators from both neoclassical ecological science and indigenous science, in particular mātauranga Māori. The Ecological State Assessment Tool (ESAT) was developed to assess quantitative scientific data using Māori ecological indicators. ESAT models population or social data weighted according to an applied Māori ecological perspective. ESAT may be applied to any conservation project to integrate Māori ecological knowledge in resource management. We illustrate the utility of ESAT in a case study of how different conservation management practices affect the ecological health of a short-tailed bat colony (Mystacina tuberculata), Pekapeka O Puketītī-Piopio. Applying ESAT shows that although pest control programs were achieving management targets, social engagement had a significant effect on ecological health outcomes for the bats. ESAT may assist territorial authorities and the Crown to meet their resource management obligations to Māori under the Treaty of Waitangi, value mātauranga and provide a way for Māori and ecologists to conceptualise and understand each other’s epistemology. Furthermore, ESAT can be adapted to include any cultural or ecological indicators, enabling its application internationally.","PeriodicalId":38939,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"49244760","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
J. Dunlop, Andrew Smith, A. Burbidge, N. Thomas, N. Hamilton, K. Morris
Worldwide deterioration in natural communities has led to an increased use of fauna translocations to improve conservation status and restore ecological function. However, few translocation programs have sufficient resources to involve multiple species and destination locations with appropriate threat management and monitoring before and after release. As part of conservation actions to mitigate impacts of the Chevron Australia Gorgon liquefied natural gas project on Barrow Island Nature Reserve, biodiversity offset funding was provided to benefit species impacted by the development. Animals were translocated from three islands to two mainland locations in Western Australia. We aimed to: (1) improve conservation status and security of several threatened species; and (2) contribute to reconstruction of pre-European fauna assemblages. Nine hundred and seventy five individuals of six mammal and two bird species were translocated. These included 421 golden bandicoots (Isoodon auratus barrowensis), 111 spectacled hare-wallabies (Lagorchestes conspicillatus conspicillatus), 105 Barrow Island boodies (Bettongia lesueur ssp. Barrow Island), 104 brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula hypoleucus), 62 mala (Lagorchestes hirsutus ssp. Tanami), 88 djoongari (Pseudomys fieldi), 37 black and white fairy-wrens (Malurus leucopterus edouardi) and 47 spinifexbirds (Eremiornis carteri). Of 11 new populations, only two failed to establish; attributed to native and feral predators. Additional populations of four species of threatened mammal (one of which has now been reduced in conservation listing) and one species of threatened bird were established. To our knowledge, this is the largest translocation effort ever undertaken in Australia and is a rare example of an offset that has provided tangible threatened species benefit.
{"title":"Industry environmental offset funding facilitates a large multi-species fauna translocation program","authors":"J. Dunlop, Andrew Smith, A. Burbidge, N. Thomas, N. Hamilton, K. Morris","doi":"10.1071/pc20036","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/pc20036","url":null,"abstract":"Worldwide deterioration in natural communities has led to an increased use of fauna translocations to improve conservation status and restore ecological function. However, few translocation programs have sufficient resources to involve multiple species and destination locations with appropriate threat management and monitoring before and after release. As part of conservation actions to mitigate impacts of the Chevron Australia Gorgon liquefied natural gas project on Barrow Island Nature Reserve, biodiversity offset funding was provided to benefit species impacted by the development. Animals were translocated from three islands to two mainland locations in Western Australia. We aimed to: (1) improve conservation status and security of several threatened species; and (2) contribute to reconstruction of pre-European fauna assemblages. Nine hundred and seventy five individuals of six mammal and two bird species were translocated. These included 421 golden bandicoots (Isoodon auratus barrowensis), 111 spectacled hare-wallabies (Lagorchestes conspicillatus conspicillatus), 105 Barrow Island boodies (Bettongia lesueur ssp. Barrow Island), 104 brushtail possums (Trichosurus vulpecula hypoleucus), 62 mala (Lagorchestes hirsutus ssp. Tanami), 88 djoongari (Pseudomys fieldi), 37 black and white fairy-wrens (Malurus leucopterus edouardi) and 47 spinifexbirds (Eremiornis carteri). Of 11 new populations, only two failed to establish; attributed to native and feral predators. Additional populations of four species of threatened mammal (one of which has now been reduced in conservation listing) and one species of threatened bird were established. To our knowledge, this is the largest translocation effort ever undertaken in Australia and is a rare example of an offset that has provided tangible threatened species benefit.","PeriodicalId":38939,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42513147","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
K. Umbers, R. Slatyer, N. Tatarnic, Giselle Muschett, Shichen Wang, Hojun Song
The true biodiversity of Australia’s alpine and subalpine endemics is unknown. Genetic studies to date have focused on sub-regions and restricted taxa, but even so, indicate deep divergences across small geographic scales and therefore that the bulk of biodiversity remains to be discovered. We aimed to study the phylogeography of the Australian Alps by focusing on the skyhoppers (Kosciuscola), a genus of five species of flightless grasshoppers whose combined distributions both span the region and are almost exclusively contained within it. Our sampling covered 650 km on the mainland and several sites in Tasmania with total of 260 specimens used to reconstruct a robust phylogeny of Koscisucola. Phylogenies were based on single nucleotide polymorphism data generated from double-digested restriction-associated DNA sequencing. Skyhoppers diverged around 2 million years ago and have since undergone complex diversification seemingly driven by climatic oscillations throughout the Pleistocene. We recovered not 5 but 14 clades indicating the presence of many unknown species. Our results support conspicuous geographic features as genetic breaks; e.g. the Murray Valley, and inconspicuous ones; e.g. between the Bogong High Plains and Mt Hotham. Climate change is progressing quickly in the region and its impact, particularly on snow, could have severe consequences for the skyhoppers’ overwinter survival. The true diversity of skyhoppers highlights that biodiversity loss in the Alps as a result of climate change is likely to be far greater than what can be estimated based on current species numbers and that management including small geographical scales is key.
{"title":"Phylogenetics of the skyhoppers (Kosciuscola) of the Australian Alps: evolutionary and conservation implications","authors":"K. Umbers, R. Slatyer, N. Tatarnic, Giselle Muschett, Shichen Wang, Hojun Song","doi":"10.1071/pc21015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/pc21015","url":null,"abstract":"The true biodiversity of Australia’s alpine and subalpine endemics is unknown. Genetic studies to date have focused on sub-regions and restricted taxa, but even so, indicate deep divergences across small geographic scales and therefore that the bulk of biodiversity remains to be discovered. We aimed to study the phylogeography of the Australian Alps by focusing on the skyhoppers (Kosciuscola), a genus of five species of flightless grasshoppers whose combined distributions both span the region and are almost exclusively contained within it. Our sampling covered 650 km on the mainland and several sites in Tasmania with total of 260 specimens used to reconstruct a robust phylogeny of Koscisucola. Phylogenies were based on single nucleotide polymorphism data generated from double-digested restriction-associated DNA sequencing. Skyhoppers diverged around 2 million years ago and have since undergone complex diversification seemingly driven by climatic oscillations throughout the Pleistocene. We recovered not 5 but 14 clades indicating the presence of many unknown species. Our results support conspicuous geographic features as genetic breaks; e.g. the Murray Valley, and inconspicuous ones; e.g. between the Bogong High Plains and Mt Hotham. Climate change is progressing quickly in the region and its impact, particularly on snow, could have severe consequences for the skyhoppers’ overwinter survival. The true diversity of skyhoppers highlights that biodiversity loss in the Alps as a result of climate change is likely to be far greater than what can be estimated based on current species numbers and that management including small geographical scales is key.","PeriodicalId":38939,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44333645","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The ecology of avian community assembly in subtropical climate areas with seasonal and year-to-year variability is complex and poorly understood. To test for variation in year–year and seasonal (summer–winter) avian community composition and species abundances, we established 10 transects (200 m long) and sampled twice yearly for 7 years. To differentiate year–year and seasonal (summer–winter) patterns from the potential disturbance effects caused by human activities associated with music festivals (events), we monitored community composition and species abundances on sites close to disturbance areas (impact) and sites distant from disturbances (control). Impacts from large scale music events included loud noise, and thousands of vehicle and people movements on a daily basis. Raw count, abundance-weighted, and feeding guild data were analysed using multivariate and univariate methods. Seasonal (summer–winter) patterns of food resource availability in dominant forest trees (fruit and nectar resources) were identified. We found strong signals for the influence of seasonality and seasonal resource availability on community composition and feeding guild representation (nectivores and frugivores). We detected somewhat weaker effects for location relative to disturbance (control vs impact) and weak effects for sample timing associated with disturbance from the events. Avian community composition showed high similarity between control and impact sites, was dynamic in space and time (year to year) and showed strong local and regional trends in response to seasonality. Avian species abundances were greater in less disturbed (control) forest habitats, highlighting the fundamental value of conservation reserves in protecting higher quality avian habitats.
{"title":"A summer and winter","authors":"M. Fitzgerald, Simon B. Z. Gorta, R. Kooyman","doi":"10.1071/pc21009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/pc21009","url":null,"abstract":"The ecology of avian community assembly in subtropical climate areas with seasonal and year-to-year variability is complex and poorly understood. To test for variation in year–year and seasonal (summer–winter) avian community composition and species abundances, we established 10 transects (200 m long) and sampled twice yearly for 7 years. To differentiate year–year and seasonal (summer–winter) patterns from the potential disturbance effects caused by human activities associated with music festivals (events), we monitored community composition and species abundances on sites close to disturbance areas (impact) and sites distant from disturbances (control). Impacts from large scale music events included loud noise, and thousands of vehicle and people movements on a daily basis. Raw count, abundance-weighted, and feeding guild data were analysed using multivariate and univariate methods. Seasonal (summer–winter) patterns of food resource availability in dominant forest trees (fruit and nectar resources) were identified. We found strong signals for the influence of seasonality and seasonal resource availability on community composition and feeding guild representation (nectivores and frugivores). We detected somewhat weaker effects for location relative to disturbance (control vs impact) and weak effects for sample timing associated with disturbance from the events. Avian community composition showed high similarity between control and impact sites, was dynamic in space and time (year to year) and showed strong local and regional trends in response to seasonality. Avian species abundances were greater in less disturbed (control) forest habitats, highlighting the fundamental value of conservation reserves in protecting higher quality avian habitats.","PeriodicalId":38939,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44127697","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
M. Driessen, Elise Dewar, S. Carver, Clare Lawrence, R. Gales
Understanding species’ distribution, population trends, and the significance of threatening processes are central to the effective conservation and management of wildlife. The island state of Tasmania, Australia, is home to two of the three extant subspecies of common wombat Vombatus ursinus ursinus and V. u. tasmaniensis, both endemic to the state. We provide a comprehensive conservation assessment of both subspecies in Tasmania, providing information on distribution and habitat, population trends and incidence of roadkill. Wombats are widespread in Tasmania, occurring in most vegetation communities, but particularly in agricultural areas, dry eucalypt forests and woodlands, and grasslands. Wombat roadkills are widespread along most major roads, with the interaction of traffic speed and wombat density likely to be one of the main causes of wombat roadkill along roads with low traffic volume. Despite this, and other factors that impact wombats including sarcoptic mange and targeted culling, population indices from standardised spotlight surveys have increased by 2.6 times over the past 36 years for V. u. tasmaniensis on mainland Tasmania and by 4.2 times over the past 27 years for V. u. ursinus on Flinders Island. Based on IUCN criteria for distribution extent and population size and trends, neither subspecies qualifies for up-listing to Threatened. Nevertheless, because of risks to wombats (e.g. disease and roadkill) ongoing monitoring and research into effective mitigation is warranted.
{"title":"Conservation status of common wombats in Tasmania II: population distribution and trends, and the incidence and significance of roadkill","authors":"M. Driessen, Elise Dewar, S. Carver, Clare Lawrence, R. Gales","doi":"10.1071/pc21031","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/pc21031","url":null,"abstract":"Understanding species’ distribution, population trends, and the significance of threatening processes are central to the effective conservation and management of wildlife. The island state of Tasmania, Australia, is home to two of the three extant subspecies of common wombat Vombatus ursinus ursinus and V. u. tasmaniensis, both endemic to the state. We provide a comprehensive conservation assessment of both subspecies in Tasmania, providing information on distribution and habitat, population trends and incidence of roadkill. Wombats are widespread in Tasmania, occurring in most vegetation communities, but particularly in agricultural areas, dry eucalypt forests and woodlands, and grasslands. Wombat roadkills are widespread along most major roads, with the interaction of traffic speed and wombat density likely to be one of the main causes of wombat roadkill along roads with low traffic volume. Despite this, and other factors that impact wombats including sarcoptic mange and targeted culling, population indices from standardised spotlight surveys have increased by 2.6 times over the past 36 years for V. u. tasmaniensis on mainland Tasmania and by 4.2 times over the past 27 years for V. u. ursinus on Flinders Island. Based on IUCN criteria for distribution extent and population size and trends, neither subspecies qualifies for up-listing to Threatened. Nevertheless, because of risks to wombats (e.g. disease and roadkill) ongoing monitoring and research into effective mitigation is warranted.","PeriodicalId":38939,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45364234","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Hugh F. Davies, Tiwi Land Rangers, Emily Nicholson, B. Murphy
Despite the ongoing collapse of native mammal populations across northern Australia, the paucity of robust estimates of population density limits our capacity to identify and understand population change. Here we aimed to provide the first estimates of native mammal density on the Tiwi Islands – one of Australia’s largest remaining refuge areas for native mammals. We conducted intensive live-trapping at four sites that represent varying combinations of fire frequency, feral cat density and feral herbivore presence. We used spatially-explicit capture-recapture models to investigate the density of common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus). Compared with mainland northern Australia, populations of common brushtail possum and northern brown bandicoot have remained relatively healthy on the Tiwi Islands. Common brushtail possum density was significantly higher on Bathurst Island (1.06 possum ha−1) compared with Melville Island (0.32 possum ha−1), whereas northern brown bandicoot density varied across all four sites (ranging from 0.04 to 0.34 bandicoot ha−1). Unexpectedly, the very frequently burnt Ranku site (Bathurst Island) continues to support healthy populations of both species. These density estimates provide critical information for identifying and understanding future population change for two species that have suffered marked declines across the Australian monsoon tropics. Although the lack of replication limits our ability to draw conclusions regarding the ecological constraints of these mammal populations, our density observations align with a recent conceptual model postulating that the persistence of native mammal populations across northern Australian savannas reflects a complex, but spatially-variable interplay of ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’ processes.
{"title":"Northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus) and common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) density on the Tiwi Islands: insights and implications","authors":"Hugh F. Davies, Tiwi Land Rangers, Emily Nicholson, B. Murphy","doi":"10.1071/pc21020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/pc21020","url":null,"abstract":"Despite the ongoing collapse of native mammal populations across northern Australia, the paucity of robust estimates of population density limits our capacity to identify and understand population change. Here we aimed to provide the first estimates of native mammal density on the Tiwi Islands – one of Australia’s largest remaining refuge areas for native mammals. We conducted intensive live-trapping at four sites that represent varying combinations of fire frequency, feral cat density and feral herbivore presence. We used spatially-explicit capture-recapture models to investigate the density of common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula) and northern brown bandicoot (Isoodon macrourus). Compared with mainland northern Australia, populations of common brushtail possum and northern brown bandicoot have remained relatively healthy on the Tiwi Islands. Common brushtail possum density was significantly higher on Bathurst Island (1.06 possum ha−1) compared with Melville Island (0.32 possum ha−1), whereas northern brown bandicoot density varied across all four sites (ranging from 0.04 to 0.34 bandicoot ha−1). Unexpectedly, the very frequently burnt Ranku site (Bathurst Island) continues to support healthy populations of both species. These density estimates provide critical information for identifying and understanding future population change for two species that have suffered marked declines across the Australian monsoon tropics. Although the lack of replication limits our ability to draw conclusions regarding the ecological constraints of these mammal populations, our density observations align with a recent conceptual model postulating that the persistence of native mammal populations across northern Australian savannas reflects a complex, but spatially-variable interplay of ‘bottom-up’ and ‘top-down’ processes.","PeriodicalId":38939,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"43496799","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sarcoptic mange is an infectious disease impacting over 100 mammalian species around the world, including Australia’s common wombat (Vombatus ursinus). A 94% decline in a localised population attributed to mange has raised concerns for the status of the two subspecies endemic to the island state of Tasmania, Australia. We provide the first broad-scale assessment of sarcoptic mange distribution and prevalence in wombats in Tasmania. Mange-affected wombats are widespread in Tasmania from sea level to 960 m above sea level, although there are no confirmed cases from the western region of Tasmania or Maria Island. It has been recorded in most major vegetation groups, but particularly in agricultural areas. Mange prevalence estimated from night-time spotlight observation and camera surveys varied between regions (0.0–17.6%) with an overall prevalence of 4.4% for observation surveys and 0.6% for camera surveys. Time of day, survey method, and distance from observer can influence mange assessments. Local reductions in wombat numbers and animal welfare impacts due to sarcoptic mange are concerning and warrant on-going monitoring of wombats and mange, and the development and trials of effective disease management options.
{"title":"Conservation status of common wombats in Tasmania I: incidence of mange and its significance","authors":"M. Driessen, Elise Dewar, S. Carver, R. Gales","doi":"10.1071/pc21007","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1071/pc21007","url":null,"abstract":"Sarcoptic mange is an infectious disease impacting over 100 mammalian species around the world, including Australia’s common wombat (Vombatus ursinus). A 94% decline in a localised population attributed to mange has raised concerns for the status of the two subspecies endemic to the island state of Tasmania, Australia. We provide the first broad-scale assessment of sarcoptic mange distribution and prevalence in wombats in Tasmania. Mange-affected wombats are widespread in Tasmania from sea level to 960 m above sea level, although there are no confirmed cases from the western region of Tasmania or Maria Island. It has been recorded in most major vegetation groups, but particularly in agricultural areas. Mange prevalence estimated from night-time spotlight observation and camera surveys varied between regions (0.0–17.6%) with an overall prevalence of 4.4% for observation surveys and 0.6% for camera surveys. Time of day, survey method, and distance from observer can influence mange assessments. Local reductions in wombat numbers and animal welfare impacts due to sarcoptic mange are concerning and warrant on-going monitoring of wombats and mange, and the development and trials of effective disease management options.","PeriodicalId":38939,"journal":{"name":"Pacific Conservation Biology","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":1.5,"publicationDate":"2021-07-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44306080","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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